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The bills, which were swiftly moved through both the House and Senate after leaders reached an agreement behind closed doors earlier in the week, now puts the pressure on Gov. Rick Scott to sign or veto the bill before session ends May 3.

The governor has been reluctant to embrace increases in campaign contribution limits while his session priorities remain in peril. Legislators have rejected his call for across-the-board teacher pay raises in the $74 billion state budget and his proposal to increase tax breaks for manufacturers is also stalled.

The campaign finance bill, HB 569, raises campaign contribution limits from $500 in current law to $3,000 for statewide candidates and $1,000 for everyone else, thereby giving the governor and any potential opponent an easier way to raise campaign cash. The House voted for the measure 79-34 and the Senate voted for it 37-0.

The ethics bill, SB 2, imposes new rules on conflicts of interest, bans legislators from leaving office and going to work as Tallahassee lobbyists, loosens rules on financial disclosure deadlines, and opens the door to legislators who want to shield their assets in a blind trust. The House approved the measure 117-0 and the Senate approved it 37-0.

"What we passed today is something that I believe does transform into more trust in government, it brings more sanity to our campaign finance laws and it raises the bar for every public official in the state of florida when it come sot our ethics laws,'' said Speaker of the House Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, after the votes.

The chambers immediately deliver the bills to the governor's desk, giving him seven days to accept or veto them. Scott wouldn't commit to a veto on the campaign finance bill although he has repeatedly raised objections.

“No one has shown me a rationale for raising these limits, so I don't know why we would do it,'' Scott told reporters on Wednesday. "On the ethics bill, I'm reviewing that."

The governor, a former health care executive and business investor, was a political newcomer in 2010 when he emerged as the frontrunner in the Republican primary and went on to spend $73 million of his personal fortune on his campaign.

The proposals were top priorities of House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, and Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, who have been shamed by ethics and elections year excesses that gave lawmakers a black eye.

The package eliminates the Committees of Continuing Existence and creates powerful new political committees that can accept unlimited amounts of campaign contributions. It also accelerates reporting requirements that will require statewide candidates and their political committees to report daily in the last 10 days before a campaign. Other campaigns will have less aggressive reporting rules but will increase reporting for legislators to every two weeks after they qualify for office.

The measure also preserves a loophole in existing law that allows state parties from the increased reporting standards but allows them to accept unlimited amounts of cash. Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, chairman of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee, said was a provision that House leaders refused to change.

Gaetz hailed the ethics bill as his “proudest moment as a senator” and said he expects the governor to sign it and not link it to other issues.

"The need to raise the standard od public conduct in this state stands on its own as a moral imperative,'' h said.

Critics said both bills leave major loopholes that, in some cases, loosen existing reporting and disclosure requirements.

Sen. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, tried and failed to amend the bill to limit donations from super-PACs and political parties to $25,000.

But Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, chairman of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee said that raising the contribution limits, which were first put in place in 1992, are "sort of keeping up with inflation.’’

He noted that the House originally proposed unlimited campaign contributions so the compromise is "much better than where the House started.’’

"You’re not going to be able to take money out of politics," Latvala said. The trend of decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed unlimited contributions to go to campaigns as a free speech right.

"So the best we’re going to be able to do in the long run is just to provide the transparency to go with that: to have good reporting, to close the loopholes,'' he said. "It’s unprecedented to have daily reporting in the days leading up to an election, when all the monkey shines go on."

The provisions also leave out recommendations made by the 2011 statewide grand jury, which recommended the state make it a felony if an officeholder’s unethical conduct is motivated by money and raise the maximum fine for an ethics violation from $10,000 to $100,000.

Instead, lawmakers loosened some of the provisions that frequently draw fines – the failure to properly disclose their financial interests – and gave lawmaker a 30-day “re-do” to fix mistakes on financial disclosure forms.

The House rejected a series of amendments by Rep. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, that would end the 30-day loophole and tighten other rules.

Scott’s general counsel, Pete Antonacci, early in the session indicated he was supportive of the Senate’s ethics proposal and Scott has not threatened to veto that bill.

Common Cause Florida, a non-profit watchdog group, slammed the campaign finance bill and said any idea that it would improve behavior was “delusional.”

"The notion that lawmakers are seriously considering campaign finance reform is a farce,'' said Brad Ashwell, of Common Cause Florida in a statement. "The bottom line is that it will do very little to improve the campaign finance process and likely will do some harm.”

He said the higher campaign limits, unlimited amount of money sent to political parties and super PACs will invite more money into the political system and serve as an incumbency protection act.

But, for legislators who must abide by the new rules, they commended the proposals as major accomplishments.

“This is not a perfect bill,'' Gaetz said of the ethics bill. "The only perfect bills are the ones Moses brought down from the mountain.”

* Requires legislators to close current CCEs but allows the money to be transferred to other candidates, political committees and parties.

* Raises campaign finance limits for statewide candidates to $3,000 for statewide candidates and supreme court judges, and to $1,000 for legislators and everyone else.

* Requires additional and accelerated reporting for statewide candidates, their political committees and electioneering and communications organizations that are statewide – estimated at about 25 to 28 each election year.

* Allows a successful state candidate to retain up to $20,000 in campaign funds, for the same office, for re-election.

* Removes the requirement for petition candidates to repay the 1 percent assessment before disposing of surplus funds.

* Allows elected officials to hold their assets in a blind trust but does not prohibit the trust from investing in companies the officials regulate

* Allows legislators to accept honorarium under the state’s gift ban

* Loosens limits on dual employment that existed in previous versions of the bill -- exempting legislators if several criteria are all met – such as having the job publicly advertised and being qualified for the job.

* Increases the time violators can be held accountable for their fines from four to 20 years.

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For Florida political news today, the Buzz is your can't-miss-it source. Tampa Bay Times writers offer the latest in Florida politics, the Florida Legislature and the Rick Scott administration. Keep in mind: This is a public forum sponsored and maintained by the Tampa Bay Times. When you post comments here, what you say becomes public and could appear in the newspaper. You are not engaging in private communication with candidates or Times staffers.